Initiation into Bosnian witchcraft

Hasiba Medinica from Cazinska krajina can be called one of the last representatives of Bosnian witchcraft. She possessed vast magical knowledge, which was unfortunately, lost in great part together with her. She had a long life which ended at the beginning of this century. She didn't have any children, and she died alone. But, she left many true stories and legends behind which made her a controversial figure.

The magical knowledge of Hasiba according to her own reports she inherited from her aunt for whom she said was a very wise woman which was well acquainted with magic. Hasiba discovered her gift for magic accidentally, namely, she managed to heal the neighbours cow which had a large warts on her udder. The cow refused to be milked. Hasibe offered to help which the neighbours accepted. Using a string of hair from a horse's tail she tied the warts while uttering a magical formula. Tomorrow morning the neighbour came to tell her the good news - the warts disappeared overnight?!

Even though that wasn't her first magic ritual, Hasiba presented it as such because she didn't want to reveal her initiation into witchcraft. She was an exceptional expert in love magic which she used to help numerous women, for a fee, to calm the tensions in marriage, eliminate competitors, or to separate a husband and a wife. She also helped girls seduce a certain man and to marry him. She used her magical knowledge in her private life in order to be more dominant in the household and marriage.

According to stories of her neighbour Ajša one time when she was visiting Hasiba, Hasiba and her lover, which she managed to separate from his wife and children, started a heated argument with a lot of insults and threats. The fight resulted in the lover leaving the house demonstratively threatening her that their life together is over and that they will never get back together. He will go home to his wife and children. After she closed the door behind him furiously, she walked back into the room surprisingly calm. Her neighbour felt unpleasant since it all took place in front of her, but what happened next caused an even greater surprise.

He will be forced back, you will see! - as soon as she uttered those words she took her panties off in front of her neighbour, she slipped through a broom that she used to clean the room three times between her legs and turned it over three times uttering a magical formula. After that she turned the broom upside down and threw her panties on top of the broom. Then she drew with her index finger a circle on the floor of the room constantly uttering a magical formula. That entire ritual lasted for ten minutes. After that Hasibe put on a new pair of panties and calmly sat next to her neighbour continuing to drink coffee. After some twenty minutes a loud knocking was heard and a quiet pleading voice of her lover continuously repeated : "Hasiba, please open the door!"

Hearing that Hasiba laughed loudly, defiant and full of herself, she told the neighbour: "Let him wait, let him wait in front of the door!", she continued to drink her coffee calmly. After a few minutes she stood up, and approached the door and told him that she was hurt by his words that he uttered during the fight, and she refused to open the door for him.

A few days later, Hasibe answered her neighbour's question why her lover was sweaty and of heavy breath by telling her that ritual Djin made him come back to her running. That's why his face was all red and full of sweat. - If I didn't open the door for him it might have ended badly, he could have been mentally retarded or he might have had a stroke.

According to story of other neighbours, the first year of her life Hasiba used to disturb and invoke Djin with her mystical rituals which she conducted naked visiting the local graveyards, forests and all those places that are known for their magical power. In the next years, until her death, the Djin disturbed her tormenting her with insomnia every night. While all slept peacefully she would light candles in her home, she would walk up and down nervous, restless, always moody and full of evil. During midnight she would open all of her windows, and under candlelight she would appear naked performing some of her rituals, which she did for some local women. She was proud of the fact that she could influence a person in a circle of 30-40 kilometres. According to her she could return every husband to his wife and vice-versa but only during the first four months of the breakup. She would regularly advise every woman to use love magic when there are no problems in marriage because if you start using magic then, the marriage will be perfect for the rest of their lives.